1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to anti-friction roller bearing units, and more particularly to bearing cages which can be snapped into position to maintain appropriate spacing between the individual bearing elements.
2. Reference to Prior Art
Bearing cages are conventionally employed in roller bearing assemblies to maintain proper spacing between the individual bearing elements. Bearing cages in which individual bearing elements can be radially snapped into spaces defined between circumferentially spaced apart webs extending between axially spaced apart rings are generally known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,006 issued Sep. 18, 1984 to Goransson et al. provides an example of this type of bearing cage.
One-piece ball bearing cages which can be inserted axially into a ball bearing assembly are also known. In this type of bearing cage, ball receiving pockets spaced circumferentially around the cage open axially outwardly of a main cage body. Each of the pocket openings is defined between opposed, yieldable retention surfaces or fingers to facilitate snapping a ball into the pocket. After being snapped into one of the pockets, the ball is retained therein by the fingers. Examples of this type of bearing construction are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,444 issued Apr. 13, 1982 to Buczynski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,760 issued Apr. 17, 1979 to Guenther, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,307 issued Jul. 14, 1981 to Olschewski et al.
It is also known to provide a bearing cage including two pieces which are snapped together to form the cage. An example of a two-piece bearing cage construct on is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,340 issued Oct. 18, 1977 to Broshkevitch et al. In this patent, the bearing cage includes a first piece which is a flat ring and a second piece having a ring portion with a plurality of circumferentially spaced and axially extending finger portions. The finger portions are provided with snap members at their ends that snap into holes in the first piece to secure the first and second pieces together.